Vegan Pastry Recipes (with no palm oil)

Ah, the wonderful smell of pastry baking in the oven! But what if you’re vegan and trying to avoid palm oil? Fear not, hungry friend. Making vegan pastry without palm oil is more than possible. So, grab your rolling pin, and let’s make some magic happen in the kitchen.

This vegan pastry recipe (The Veg Space) uses palm-oil-free butter (Flora is a good brand).

Keep pastry away from young children and pets (can expand in the stomach) and may contain unsafe ingredients (salt, garlic etc). Read more on food safety for people and pets.

This homemade vegan pastry (Doves Farm) is a simple recipe to create homemade pastry for a large pie (top and base) or 24 small tarts (you can wrap and freeze leftovers in eco-friendly zip bags

Flora sells a good solid vegan fat (with no palm oil in easy-to-recycle packaging), sold everywhere. This recipe is a simple case of rubbing the fat and salt in a mixing bowl, then adding chilled vegan butter cubes, to form a ball of dough. Roll it out and use for your recipes.

Homemade Pastry (with coconut flour)

This homemade coconut flour pastry recipe (Doves Farm) is a simple recipe for a lighter pastry that is also suitable for gluten-free diets, made with coconut flour and ground almonds. Press the finished dough into a quiche dish, as it’s more flaky to handle.

You can find coconut flour in good health shops, and use organic European ground almonds (not the US) for better ethics (some almonds use farming practices that harm bees).

Like most gluten-free baking recipes, this uses xanthan gum, but one investment should last a long time.

Why use homemade pastry?

Because nearly all ready-made pastry contains palm oil. Greenpeace says the term ‘sustainable palm oil’ is as ‘useful as a chocolate teapot’ and such goods should be avoided, to protect habitats of endangered orangutans along with Sumatran rhinos and elephants.

Palm oil is mostly found in junk food and bar soaps, you don’t need it if you make homemade recipes. It’s only flown in from thousands of miles away because it’s cheaper than supporting local farmers, by using rapeseed oil.

Just mix the cold cubed butter with Doves Farm organic plain white flour and a pinch of salt, and a little water.

You’ll also need a little oil for the baking dish, and a little flour for dusting. After leaving the dough to stand for 15 minutes, roll it out on a floured surface, and use for your baked goods.

Secrets of Creating Vegan Pastry

Keep Your Ingredients Cold. Cold ingredients lead to flaky pastry. Pop your flour in the freezer before baking. Chill your oil substitutes. You want your dough to protest ever so slightly when rolled out – that’s when you know you’ve nailed it.

Don’t Overwork the Dough. Kneading too much toughens the crumb, and nobody wants a chewy tart crust. Mix until just combined. Letting the dough rest in the fridge gives the flour time to hydrate and the gluten to relax.

The Dough Is Too Sticky. If your dough’s clinging to the counter like it’s the last bus home, sprinkle more flour until it calms down. Be gentle, though, flour can be forgetful and let your pastry dry if overused.

The Pastry Is Too Crumbly. Crumbly dough means it’s thirsty. Add a teaspoon of ice water at a time, and knead it lightly until cohesion returns.

The Crust Isn’t Brown Enough. A lacklustre crust can seem disheartening. A quick brush of plant milk before baking can call forth a pleasing hue. Alternatively, a touch more time in the oven often does wonders.